Running concurrently with the opening of Blue Season, GR Gallery presents the release of Suanjaya Kencut’s long-awaited monograph, A Journey Through Button-Eyed Worlds. The book launch comes accompanied by a carefully curated selection of the artist’s latest drawings, crafted specifically to echo the catalogue’s themes.
Kencut — the visual artist better known by his working name — draws on a childhood steeped in traditional Balinese art and modern installation practice. His cast of mute, button-eyed dolls has become his signature language: figures placed in real-life situations that seem to live through distinctly human emotions, struggles, and joys. Against flat backgrounds and bold color, the dolls invite viewers to imagine themselves in their shoes, bridging illustration and installation with a disarming innocence.
The 160-page hardcover monograph is written by the artist himself and edited by Adhi Pandoyo, released in a limited run of 500 copies. Richly illustrated and premium-printed, it unfolds across five chapters that trace Kencut’s journey from a young boy riding a motorbike to school in Bali to an internationally recognized artist — with home still deeply embedded in his subconscious. Through the dolls, he confronts his upbringing and culture at every creative step, opening a dialogue where memory and culture become small parts of the universal human condition.
The publication follows a distinguished career spanning solo exhibitions such as Repeat (Artotel Gajah Mada, Semarang, 2020), It isn’t a Whole (Artotel Sanur, Bali, 2019), and Kaum Mata Kancing (Kopi Kalyan Jakarta Selatan, 2019), as well as group shows including Elpis an Envisage of Hope (Langgeng Art Space, Yogyakarta, 2021), Daya Hidup (Museum dan Tanah Liat, Yogyakarta, 2021), and Indonesia: Kamu Sudah Makan? (Gwangju, South Korea, 2020). Kencut earned his Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the Indonesian Institute of Art Yogyakarta in 2012.
A limited number of book copies will be available for purchase both in person and online at GR Gallery, coinciding with an exhibition that pairs the volume with paintings and drawings echoing the monograph’s themes of reflection, exploration, and personal transformation.
Photo credits: Artist’s archieve and GR Gallery
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